Victoza vs Trulicity

Victoza and Trulicity are brand-name prescription drugs for type 2 diabetes mellitus commonly added to treatment plans when metformin isn’t working well to lower your blood glucose levels. They also help reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke, and death from heart disease. Victoza is manufactured by Novo Nordisk and Trulicity is manufactured by Eli Lilly.

Both Victoza and Trulicity are injectable type 2 diabetes medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and appear in the American Diabetes Association guidelines. But are they the same? Here we focus on what these drugs are, how they work, and the similarities and differences between them.

Understanding GLP-1 receptor agonists

Victoza and Trulicity belong to a drug class called GLP-1 also known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. When you eat and drink, your body produces digestive hormones called incretins. GLP-1 is one of these incretin hormones.

GLP-1 incretin hormones help lower your blood glucose levels when you digest food in three ways:

• Stimulating your body to produce more insulin
• Preventing the release of glucagon
• Slowing down how quickly your body digests food

Victoza and Trulicity act in the same way as GLP-1 incretin hormones. By stimulating the same receptors, they cause your body to release more insulin, less glucagon, and digest food slower. They help to ensure your blood glucose levels do not fall too low causing hypoglycemia. Victoza and Trulicity can not be used to treat type 1 diabetes.

Other drugs in this class include Bydureon (exenatide), Byetta (exenatide) and Ozempic (semaglutide). Brand name drug Saxenda contains the same active ingredient as Victoza and is included in this drug class but is FDA approved for weight loss use.

What are the differences and similarities between Victoza and Trulicity?

Both are GLP-1 receptor agonist medications used to treat type 2 diabetes. They are given as an injection under the skin (subcutaneous injection) using a self-injecting pen device, and they work in the same way. Although Victoza and Trulicity are similar, there are key differences between them.

The active ingredients they contain are the most important difference between Victoza and Trulicity. Victoza contains a GLP-1 receptor agonist called liraglutide while Trulicity contains a GLP-1 receptor agonist called dulaglutide. Liraglutide and dulaglutide do work in similar ways, but they are not identical and you may respond to them differently.

Trulicity and Victoza both come as liquid solutions that are given with an injection pen but the frequency of dosage differs.

• Trulicity comes as prefilled, single-use pens. The dose of Trulicity is once per week. Trulicity is available in 4 different doses: 0.75 mg, 1.5 mg, 3 mg, and 4.5 mg
• Victoza comes as prefilled, multi-use pens. The dose of Victoza is once per day. Victoza is available in three different doses: 0.6 mg, 1.2 mg, and 1.8 mg

The doses prescribed for each drug vary depending on your doctors advice.

Injection site reactions may occur with Victoza and Trulicity but not commonly reported in clinical trials. As Trulicity is only injected once weekly this maybe a preferred option if this is a problem.

Both diabetes drugs are approved to reduce cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in patients who have Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

As both drugs are in the same drug class of GLP-1 agonist their side effects are similar with gastrointestinal side effects most common.

How effective is Victoza vs Trulicity?

In a head-to-head clinical trial, Victoza and Trulicity were compared for safety and efficacy in metformin-treated patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. Both drugs were found to be similarly effective.

The findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis of seven clinical studies compared Trulicity, Victoza, and other medications in the same drugs class. It was found that treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonists has beneficial effects on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Common side effects of Victoza and Trulicity

• Nausea
• Constipation
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Burping

In rare instances, Victoza and Trulicity can cause more serious side effects, including:

• An increased risk of thyroid tumors, symptoms such as hoarseness, a lump or swelling in the throat
• Kidney problems, including kidney failure
• Serious allergic reactions cause swelling under your skin, normally in your eyelids, lips, hands, or feet. Swelling of your mouth, tongue, or throat leading to shortness of breath
• Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis). Symptoms of pancreatitis include severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting that doesn’t stop
• Changes in your vision
• Very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

Victoza and Trulicity drug interactions

If you take any of the below medications, they can interact with Victoza and Trulicity and potentially impact its effectiveness. You should let your physician know about all other medications you take as this could even cause certain side effects to become more severe.

• Any other diabetes medications, like insulin or sulfonylureas
• Other medications that can lower your blood sugar levels, like diuretics, corticosteroids, estrogens, oral contraceptives, nicotinic acid, and calcium channel blocking drugs
• Antidepressants, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – phenelzine, selegiline, sertraline

Victoza and Trulicity warnings & precautions

Don’t take Victoza or Trulicity if you:

• Are allergic to the active ingredient liraglutide or dulaglutide, or any of the other ingredients in Victoza or Trulicity
• Have had, or anyone in your family has had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC)
• Have an endocrine system condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2)
• Have pancreatitis
• Have type 1 diabetes (Victoza and Trulicity are for the treatment of type 2 diabetes only)
• Are under 18 years of age

Talk to your doctor before taking Victoza and Trulicity if you:

• Have had any problems with your pancreas or kidneys
• Have ever had diabetic retinopathy
• Are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant
• Are breastfeeding or are planning to breastfeed

Read the full prescribing information for Victoza and Trulicity and always speak with your healthcare provider for medical advice about your medicine so they can monitor and evaluate your condition.